Family Reunion!
by Benny The Crazed Cartoonist
Summary: A Decepticon stasis pod holds a surprise for Soundwave and Laserbeak! No pairings, Cybertronian cussing, and Knock Out being prissy. Prime with hints of G1 and TF:A.
1. Chapter 1

**Part 1 of my 2 part thingy. Part 2 will hopefully be up tomorrow.**

**Sorry in advance for the mistakes.**

**I own nothing.**

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Knock Out shuddered in disgust. The vegetation in this sector of the planet simply RUINED his finish! Not to mention the green of the foliage clashed horribly with his cherry red paint. He shook a pede, appalled, and wondered why he was here again.

Oh yeah. Scouting for that fragging energy signal.

He was a superior officer! 'Scouting' jobs should be left to minor Decepticons, like Vehicons. He had more important things to take care of. This scouting mission was just wasting the time of both him and Breakdown.

Knock Out's assistant was following his own scanner over the hill a ways. He didn't mind this mission, simply because he loved being outside, and there was a chance he'd get his daily dose of excitement. In Knock Out's professional opinion, Breakdown could've handled this dumb job himself, giving Knock Out the time to continue on sensitive projects.

The Decepticon CMO placed two digits to the side of his helm, opening his and Breakdown's private comm. frequency. This wasn't particularly necessary, but they both agreed that the small privacy it offered was comforting, especially with a 'bot like Soundwave in close proximity. "Have you found anything YET?!"

Teasing annoyance was heavy in the former-Wrecker's tone. /Not since the LAST six times you asked me!/

Knock Out navigated around a clump of suspicious-looking bushes. "Sometimes I think Lord Megatron sends us on these 'trips' just to get rid of us."

/You're only getting that now?/ Joked his friend.

The scanner in Knock Out's servo started to beep. "Hold on." He inspected the blinking red light on the small instrument. It was indicating something rather close to his current position. "I do believe I've got something. Rendezvous at my position." He waited for Breakdown.

He heard his partner before he saw him. A small smile wormed itself over Knock Out's faceplates, despite his disgust to be in his current predicament. Breakdown was not known for his stealth.

"Can you be any louder, Breakdown?" He smirked once Breakdown had caught up. "I don't think the Autobots heard you."

"Yeah, well, you'd be loud too if you were my size. Shorty."

They found the source of the energy signal in a small grove of pine trees. They both stared a moment, dumb-struck.

"A… stasis pod?" Breakdown voiced both their thoughts. Knock Out gave the signal to approach and Breakdown cycled his servos into his hammers. They crept forward carefully, inspecting the dusty pod. Once Knock Out had deemed it safe, he crouched and swiped a servo against the dirty symbol carved on the surface.

"It's one of ours." He indicated to the purple mark he'd just cleaned off.

"Should we open it here, or bring it to Lord Megatron first?"

Knock Out considered this. If they brought back an open stasis pod, Lord Megatron may get cross. And, if there was something alive inside, they may possibly bring it back empty. But if he left it sealed, another officer would take credit for discovering what was inside. Knock Out could just see Starscream's haughty grin, or Soundwave's smug silence.

Knock Out couldn't handle that. Just the thought of it made his energon boil.

"We open it now." He flipped his hand to his rotary saw and proceeded to carefully cut a hole in the top of the pod. When finished, he pried the circle off and he and Breakdown peered in to the interior.

Silence settled between them as they registered what the contents were.

Their optics met. A smile tugged at the corners of Knock Out's mouth.

"Oh, Soundwave will be thrilled."


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two. ^_^**

**Characters may be a little OOC. Sorry.**

**Also, I apologize in advance for any mistakes.**

**My headcanon: Prime Laserbeak is actually female.**

**Enjoy! :)**

**I own nothing.**

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Soundwave opened a groundbridge to Alberta, to the Rocky Mountains. Knock Out emerged first, then Breakdown, who was lugging something heavy in his thick arms. As they approached, Soundwave identified the item as a stasis pod. "We have returned victorious!" The cherry-red medic opened his arms in a triumphant flourish.

As Megatron and Starscream went over to investigate, Soundwave turned away, uninterested.

Knock Out caught the gesture. "Don't dismiss it so quickly, Soundwave. Someone sent a present for you." He motioned for Breakdown to set the pod down in front of the Communications Officer.

All officers present, excluding Knock Out and Breakdown, watched curiously as Soundwave extended his tentacles and reached into the pod.

_Not possible._

Soundwave felt himself freeze. This was totally unthinkable. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly withdrew a stack of five bot-sized cassettes.

One never realizes how much noise a Cybertronian makes until they go completely silent. When five Cybertronians go completely silent, the simple lack of noise is deafening. The one to break the quiet spell was, surprisingly, Laserbeak, who sensed the presence of her companions. She stirred restlessly around her host's torso, peeping gently.

"Soundwave," Megatron said, his voice quite a bit softer than usual. His officers looked at him in surprise. They'd never heard him use that tone. Soundwave only gave the slightest indication that he'd heard his lord. "You have the rest of the solar cycle off." The surprise from his followers grew to outright astonishment. Megatron was definitely not known for his sentiment, so why was he acknowledging Soundwave's feelings?

The TIC didn't stick around to find out. He took his cassettes gently into his slender fingers and plodded to his quarters. He set the stack on the berth and just stared at them for a moment, deploying Laserbeak so she could inspect the small pile.

How could they be here? Soundwave was certain the Autobots had terminated them directly after they'd been captured. Due to their bonded link, Soundwave knew the Autobots could affect him by inflicting harm to his deployers. Megatron knew this also, and had ordered their isolation to protect the Decepticons' position. It was by far the hardest thing Soundwave had ever needed to do. He'd figured, once the Autobots realized the five mini-cons were stasis-locked, they'd deemed them useless and gotten rid of them. To see them still online…

Were they still functioning? Had the crazed Autobot scientists rigged them somehow? Did they wipe their neural net?

As stunned and excited as he was, Soundwave had to be cautious. If the enemy had corrupted his deployers, they were a threat. But Soundwave desperately wanted to have them again, to keep them near, to feel their spark-beats against his frame, as with Laserbeak.

He slowly reached forward with his tentacles and wrapped them delicately around the first cassette. He sent forth a small electrical current coupled with his unique Spark signature. If this one were still online…

The Cassetticon's frame trembled slightly, then Soundwave registered the energy signal steadily growing. A head emerged, then legs, then a tail.

_Ravage._

The kittycon stretched and yawned, then quivered in excitement at the sight of his host. He leaped forward, nuzzling Soundwave affectionately while sending him a series of joyful _ping_s. Soundwave stroked Ravage's back, relishing in the companionship of his follower. After a moment, though, Soundwave extended his tentacles to the next two Cassetticons and Ravage leaped onto the berth to sit by his stasis-locked partners and growl a friendly _hello _to Laserbeak.

The Communications Officer sent the same electrical charge through the frames and Rumble and Frenzy emerged, stretching and working their joints. When their optics landed on their commander, they rushed up and wrapped their arms around his legs, emitting small noises of happiness and relief. Laserbeak and Ravage climbed down to greet them after so many stellar-cycles.

Soundwave took up the last two frames and reactivated them. The two newest members of his team, Ratbat and Buzzsaw, started to hover immediately after coming online. They floated by his head for a minute or two, then said hello to the others, Laserbeak in particular.

The TIC let them catch up for a bit before asking Rumble and Frenzy what had happened after he'd severed the connection between them. They retold the whole, gruesome, horrifying story, the other deployers shuddering at the words. Even Laserbeak, who kept close to Soundwave, got a sense of the others' feelings via the bond they shared.

Soundwave received the feelings too. He could clearly recall how his cassettes had reacted, the pure terror they felt at the hands of the Autobot scientist Wheeljack. The panic when they realized they'd been separated from their host. The crushing hopelessness that had consumed their Sparks just before they got locked in stasis. He could visualize every disgusting detail as if seeing things from the crimson optics of his mini-cons. Laserbeak went momentarily offline at the images coursing through her processor and she fluttered weakly down to the berth where Frenzy caught her.

It was awful, the twins concluded. All other mini-cons present nodded miserably.

Soundwave's Spark melted. He considered himself an emotionless mech, and took pride in that fact, but he genuinely cared for his team. He sent them reassuring messages. Don't worry. It's all over now. I will never let that happen again.

He allowed Laserbeak to fill in the story from their point of view. It seemed silly and tame compared to what the others had gone through. Laserbeak was ecstatic to have her partners back. She showed it in her movements. Her wings fluttered excitedly and she couldn't seem to stay still. Soundwave was slightly amused at her antics.

Mini-cons, he announced when Laserbeak had quite finished. Return.

How long had he been waiting to say that? Stellar-cycles. Far too long. 'Forever', as humans would say. He didn't quite get the point of that expression, though.

Soundwave's deployers had obviously been waiting for the command as well. The hurried to their respective spots on their leader's body, movements accented with joyous energy. Laserbeak returned to his chest, Ravage completing the chest-plate by attaching to his back, Buzzsaw and Ratbat turning into armour on his shoulders, and Rumble and Frenzy latching onto his lower legs. The overall effect was impressive. For the first time in ages, Soundwave felt fully protected.

He stared out of the room, walking with a bit more bounce in his step, though he'd never admit it. A group of Vehicons passed by, giving him odd glances, but Soundwave didn't care. Their opinion didn't matter. All that mattered was that he had his Casseticons back.

They all shifted at once, causing almost a ripple effect over Soundwave's frame, and sent a message to him.

We missed you.

Soundwave stood still for a moment, wondering at this warm, bubbly feeling in his Spark, a feeling that hadn't surfaced in a long time. He couldn't think of words to describe how happy he was to have them back.

Finally he sent back:

Likewise.

_**End**_


End file.
